Another Water Hammer Hits Puerto Rican Supply Pipeline
For the second time since September 1999, a water hammer shut down a major water supply for San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Repair crews were already working on pipe sections damaged last fall when a violent water hammer struck the $340-million Superaqueduct, which will eventually provide an additional 100 million gallons per day of drinking water to Greater San Juan. This time an electrical variation in the pump station at the city's primary water source, Lake Carraizo reservoir, created a surge in the water line from the pumps to the water filtration plant. The resulting water hammer cracked a cast iron elbow joint near the system's outlet manifold on Jan. 21.